Revelation 12:9

0:00 good evening church if you're familiar with sports at all especially at the higher levels you'll know that usually there's a scouting report right when a team comes facing another team they have a scouting report and what's a scouting report well it tells you how the other team is where are their strengths what are their weaknesses right or even if you're familiar with little league they don't call them scouts in little league they're just moms and dads, right? The scouting is pretty heavy, even in the little league level.

0:34 But at the major league level especially, you have people that are hired for that specific task. Pitchers go up knowing, they have pages filled of what these hitters' strengths are, where their weaknesses are, how do they attack them. Hitters, they know the pitcher's good pitches, what he uses more often, what he doesn't use as much. And then even on defense, before major league baseball change their rules. They used to have shifts, right? They would know that this batter doesn't hit on the left side of the field, so the whole infield will shift to the right, right? They know weaknesses of the other team. And the whole point of that, knowing the weaknesses, is how do we attack that, right? The goal is to win the game. The goal is to win that battle against the other team. And so you need to know your opponent. You need to know what they're good at, what they're not good at. So tonight, as we walk into our passage tonight, we're going to get a little scouting report on our enemy, as you will, as it is. The major difference here though,

1:37 we need to know our enemy, right? But as we heard this morning, ultimately we know who to call on for the ultimate victory. And we're going to get into that tonight. So our verse for tonight is Revelation chapter 12 verse 9. Revelation chapter 12 verse 9. You'll find that on the front of your bulletin or towards the end of your Bible. Chapter 12 verse 9. We read that this morning as well, but let me read that. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who was called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.

2:15 He was thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him. The main idea I have for us tonight, we do have a great enemy in this life, but in Christ, our life is secure from the enemy. We do have a great enemy in this life, but in Christ, our life is secure from the enemy. And I'll be honest, I went back and I listened to Greg's sermon from this chapter, I think it was last July.

2:46 Mainly just to level set myself, going into Revelation, a lot's going on, right? So I wanted to level set myself, know what was going on, make sure I wasn't going somewhere I shouldn't. But if you can remember back to that series we went through on Revelation, you'll recall that this section is chapter 12 through 14 is the fourth of seven cycles or visions that John is giving us. The cycle starts in chapter 12, and verses 1 through 6 and verses 7 through 12 depict two separate scenarios that are happening concurrently.

3:17 One is a view from the earth, earthly perspective, and 7 through 12 is a heavenly perspective. They're happening at the same time. Essentially, this section depicts, kind of walks us through Christ's birth all the way through his ascension after the resurrection. Satan is seeking to devour Christ in 1 through 6, but he's unsuccessful, and thus he turns his attention and his focus to the followers of Christ. He's now attacking, he's going to go after the followers of Christ.

3:50 Two main ideas for us as well. First is know your enemy, and the second is trust your Savior. Know your enemy and trust your Savior. So point number one, here in this short verse that we just read, verse 9, the thing that pointed out to me, there's five names or depictions of Satan within this one verse, right? This is who our enemy is. John's very clear. There's no room for debate as to whom he is speaking of. We see the great dragon, the ancient serpent, the devil, Satan, and the deceiver.

4:28 These names give us great insight into who this enemy is. It's our scouting report, if you will. The great dragon is seen throughout the book of Revelation. The imagery we see is of a vicious, monstrous, powerful creature constantly in opposition to God and his people. The ancient serpent harkens back to Genesis chapter 3 in which he's described as he's more crafty than any other beast of the field. He is shrewd and sly in his temptation of Adam and Eve.

4:59 He's smart and careful in his attacks. The name devil comes from a Greek word meaning to slander or to accuse falsely. our enemy has no concern for truth he is intent on bringing down with him by any means bringing bringing others down with him by any means necessary and that name's satan satan means adversary he's a rival he's an enemy of god himself he's opposed to god and all those who follow him and finally he's called the deceiver right and by this point there's no there's no surprised to hear that our enemies, Satan, the devil, is a deceiver. Elsewhere in the Gospel of John, John calls Satan a liar and the father of lies. Deception, deceit, cunning, false accusation is his game. It's what he's good at. It's what he does. This dragon, the devil, Satan, he's our enemy. What we've read in this one verse gives us a pretty good idea of who it is we're dealing

6:02 with right and this deceiver as we see in our text is thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him satan and his minions they no longer have access to the heavens verses seven and eight um seven and eight of chapter 12 tell us of a war in heaven it's michael and the angels against the dragon and his army and satan loses he's thrown down to the earth he's not he's not just asked to leave he's tossed out he went after christ like i mentioned while he was on earth but he was defeated again through the cross and the resurrection and his ascension but now christ is ruling in heaven as we know and satan is still here on earth like i mentioned his attention is on us on those who keep the commandments of god and hold to the testimony of jesus as john puts it in verse 7 of our chapter. Satan's here and we as believers are his target. And I wanted to spend the time just looking at Satan our enemy because I think it's extremely helpful to us as we also

7:07 are here on this earth and in our own battles in the day-to-day. We need to know who and what it is we are fighting against. It helps us to be prepared. One thing that Greg reminded us of in the series on Revelation and even this morning is that this life is not a game. It's not passive. It's a dangerous and frightening time that we live in as we've seen throughout history and even up to now. If we rest, if we become complacent, Satan and sin can gain a foothold because he is certainly not giving up the fight.

7:44 I envision a tug of war. Have you ever been in a tug of war? Both sides are pulling. If you let up and the other side doesn't, you're going to get pulled across that line. That's the vision. We have to keep tugging, keep fighting, or Satan will gain a foothold. He's the deceiver. And John here says he is the deceiver of the whole world. Satan and his fallen angels are working to deceive the whole world. In many ways, it's clear to see that he is having a lot of success these days.

8:18 What is right is considered wrong. What is wrong is considered right. Lies and deception rule the day when it comes to our culture. The confusion and evil that we are witnessing, it's easy for us to see that. But let me ask, is he having success in your own heart? Are you listening to the lies that he is telling you? The lie that it's okay just this one time. The lie that no one will ever find out, so it's not a big deal.

8:55 The lie that says, well, they did it to me first, so I'm justified in my anger and my bitterness. The lie that your sin is too great for Christ to forgive you. The lie that God doesn't want to hear your prayers until you get your life in order. Satan's a liar. The father of lies. That's all he knows. He's good at it. Be on guard. Know your enemy. Know his tactics. But just as he's thrown down from heaven, he will one day be thrown down for good.

9:31 Which brings us to the second point. Trust your Savior. Trust your Savior. As mentioned, Satan has, he's turned his focus away from going after Christ. Why did he change his tactic? Because he's been defeated by God already. He's attacking God from the beginning, and he's defeated over and over again. Because he's been defeated by God, and therefore he's trying to bring down as many of God's people as possible. In fact, verse 12 of our chapter puts it this way.

10:03 But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short. His time is short. His time is short. And he knows it. Do you? So often we get stuck looking at our circumstances, focusing on what's in front of us, that we forget to look up. To look up to the one who created all things and holds all things in his hands. To look up to the one who was lifted up on our behalf, that we might have eternal life with him. The one prophesied to bruise the serpent's head in Genesis 3 has come and he has been victorious.

10:38 Victorious on the cross and by his resurrection from the dead. At the cross, he disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him. Paul tells us that in Colossians. And just after the great dragon is thrown down to the earth, we read in the verses following, verses 10 and 11. And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come.

11:09 For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. For they love not their lives, even unto death. The accuser is conquered by the blood of the Lamb. That's Jesus Christ. The good news of the gospel is that Satan is defeated. Our lives, our Savior lives, and if we put our trust and hope in him, we have conquered our enemy.

11:42 His lies are countered with truth. Whereas Satan is the father of lies, God is the father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow to change. He's unchanging and he is true. What he says and does is trustworthy. Satan whispers that it's okay just this one time. The truth of God says, for whoever keeps the whole law but falls and fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. Satan says, no one will ever know. It's no big deal. The truth of God in Matthew says, but Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, why do you think evil in your hearts?

12:20 Satan deceives, causing you to think, they did it to me first, so I'm justified in my anger and bitterness. The truth of God says, strive for peace with everyone. And for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord, see to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled. Satan tells you, your sin is too great for Christ to forgive you. God promises, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

12:59 Satan deceives you to believe that God doesn't want to hear your prayers until you get your life in order. God's truth proclaims, let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of need. Brothers and sisters, trust your Savior. Know his word. Trust the promises of the gospel that your sins are forgiven and that your enemy has no power over you. Sure, he can be convincing at times, and he can be right in his accusations against us, but he holds no dominion over us if we are in Christ. This is the promise to those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ alone. If you're here, you have yet to put your trust in Christ and receive his security over the enemy. Let me read again what John tells us in verse 12 but woe to you oh earth and see for the devil has come down to you in great wrath because

14:01 he knows that his time is short his time is short he's come with great wrath against you he knows it's short so he's coming strong satan wants nothing more than to keep you from jesus he wants to drag you down with him lift your eyes to the one who has lifted up on the cross for our sake to take the punishment we deserve for our sin that we might conquer sin and Satan by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. We do indeed have a great enemy.

14:33 But I hope more than that, you have seen our great Savior. He loves his people and he will ultimately judge his enemies. And as we were encouraged this morning, patiently trust your sovereign God. Towards the end of Revelation, chapter 20 verse 10 I'll conclude with this and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever his doom is sure pray with me Lord we thank you so much for Christ.

15:22 God, we do have a great enemy in this life. Enemies from without and enemies from within. But God, you have conquered all by your death and resurrection on the cross, God, and you are seated in heaven at the right hand of the Father, God, advocating for us. God, I pray that we would put our faith and our hope and our trust in you alone as we battle in this life. We pray this in Christ's name, amen.